Anglo
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The term Anglo is used as a prefix to indicate a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and Southern Africa. It is also used, both in English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries, to refer to Anglophone people of other European origins.
Anglo is a Late Latin prefix used to denote English- in conjunction with another toponym or demonym. The word is derived from Anglia, the Latin name for England, and still the modern name of its eastern region. Anglia and England both mean Land of the Angles, a Germanic people originating in the north German peninsula of Angeln.
Anglo is not a technical term.[citation needed] There are linguistic problems with using the word as an adjective or noun on its own. For example, the o in Anglo means and (Anglo-Saxon means of Angle and Saxon origin), so there is only an apparent parallelism between, for example, Latino and Anglo. However, a semantic change has taken place in many English-speaking regions so that in informal usage the meanings listed below are valid.
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[edit] Specialized usage
[edit] Australia
In Australia, "Anglo" is used as part of the terms Anglo-Australian and Anglo-Celtic, which refer to the majority of Australians, who are of English and/or Scottish, Welsh or Irish descent.[1]
[edit] Canada
In Canada, and especially in Canadian French, the term anglophone is widely used to designate someone whose everyday language is English, as contrasted to francophone whose everyday language is French and allophones, those with a different mother tongue. In Quebec, the word refers to English-speaking Quebecers in both English and French. Anglo-Metis is also sometimes used to refer to a historical ethnic group.
[edit] Israel
Immigrants from English-speaking countries are sometimes referred to as Anglo-Saxonim, and now sometimes shortened to Anglo.[2] However this term is problematic, as it lumps together immigrants from the diverse cultures of the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, the USA and Canada under one apparently culturally homogeneous umbrella and assumes a common interest based on language and an undefined "Anglo-Saxon" culture.
[edit] New Zealand
Anglo in New Zealand refers to anyone who is of British Isles (Anglo-Celtic) ancestry, although the more popular term for them, as well as for any New Zealander of European origins, is Pākehā, a Maori term used by the indigenous Polynesian people.
[edit] Scotland
In Scotland the term Anglo-Scot, often shortened to "Anglo", is used to refer to people born in England with Scottish ancestry, or people born in Scotland with English ancestry.
[edit] Southern Africa
In South Africa, Anglo-South African[citation needed] is used for predominantly British-descended, English-speaking white people, who are contrasted with the Dutch-descended Afrikaners. Use of Anglo occurs elsewhere in former British colonies in Africa which have sizable British communities, including Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. However, the term "Anglo" is more heavily used in South Africa than in these other countries because of Apartheid and the importance it placed on race.[citation needed]
[edit] United States
In the United States, Anglo is used, particularly by certain Hispanics, primarily of Mexican descenet, to refer, incorrectly, to white Americans who are not of Hispanic or Latino origin, and sometimes to those who are not of French origin.[3] The term is used without regard to whether or not they are of English, Irish, or Scottish descent.
[edit] References
- ^ "1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1995". http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/49f609c83cf34d69ca2569de0025c182!OpenDocument. Retrieved on 2008-06-24.
- ^ "Israel Anglo File news, Israel diplomatic map". http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/LiArt.jhtml?contrassID=2&subContrassID=16&sbSubContrassID=0.
- ^ "Anglo - Definitions from Dictionary.com; American Heritage Dictionary". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Anglo. Retrieved on 2008-03-29. "Usage Note: In contemporary American usage, Anglo is used primarily in direct contrast to Hispanic or Latino. In this context it is not limited to persons of English or even British descent, but is applied, usually by non-whites, to any non-Hispanic white person. This is an entirely inaccurate description and would be similar to calling all Hispanics "Mestizos". Thus in parts of the United States with large Hispanic populations, an American of Polish, Irish, or German heritage might be termed an Anglo just as readily as a person of English descent. However, in parts of the country where the Hispanic community is smaller or nonexistent, or in areas where ethnic distinctions among European groups remain strong, Anglo has little currency as a catch-all term for non-Hispanic whites. Anglo is also used in non-Hispanic contexts. In Canada, where its usage dates at least to 1800, the distinction is between persons of English and French descent. And in American historical contexts Anglo is apt to be used more strictly to refer to persons of English heritage, as in this passage describing the politics of nation-building in pre-Revolutionary America: "The 'unity' of the American people derived ... from the ability and willingness of an Anglo elite to stamp its image on other peoples coming to this country" (Benjamin Schwarz)."
